Napa 150 June 22 1997
NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National North Division
Thompson International Speedway, Thompson, CT
Thirty six NASCAR Busch North cars took the green on a hot ...

Thirty six NASCAR Busch North cars took the green on a hot but
otherwise pleasant evening at Thompson Speedway for their eighth
event of the 1997 season, led by 1995 BGNN Champion Kelly Moore and
1994 Champion Dale Shaw, with fast time-trialer Jerry Marquis
starting in sixth due to the traditional re-drawing of starting
positions among the top qualifiers.

Streaking off to an early lead was Moore with Shaw in tow, followed
by Martin Truex, Andy Santerre who soon lost fourth to Marquis,
Dave Dion, Mike Stefanik, Mike Olsen, Jeff Barry and Brad Leighton.
ON lap ten Marquis took third from Truex and set off after the lead
duo. This battle lasted to lap 19 when the first yellow of the
night flew for a tangle in turn three between Tom Fox and Lee
Sherwood, with Dennis Demers getting slightly involved trying to
work his way through. As the caution flew, Tom Carey Jr. pitted
with the crew checking out the rear axle. Also pitting under this
yellow were Sherwood, Fox, Robbie Crouch, Demers, Phil Rondeau,
Eric Bodine and Tim Zock. The running order under yellow was Moore,
Shaw, Marquis, Santerre, Truex, Dion, Stefanik, Olsen, Barry, and
Leighton.

Racing resumed at lap 23 and taking advantage of the restart was
Dion who took fifth from Truex, and Olsen taking seventh from
Stefanik. Three laps after the restart the yellow would fly again
for Jason Manafort's spin in turn three, and under this yellow
Scott Bouley pitted.

On the lap 29 restart Shaw stayed on Moore's outside for an entire
lap and coming out of turn two on lap 30, Shaw was pinched against
the outside wall and hit hard. He drove to the pits but was done
for the day, and Moore was black-flagged to the pit area where he
reported, only to return to the race at the end of the pack. Also
pitting were Bouley, Manafort and Gege Gravel. The running order up
front was shuffled so now it looked like: Marquis, Santerre, Dion,
Truex, Olsen, Stefanik, Barry, Leighton, Tom Bolles and Bob Dragon.

Lap 34 saw the next restart and Marquis ran off with the lead
followed by Santerre and Dion, while behind those Olsen and
Stefanik were fighting for fifth, with Stefanik getting it. On lap
39 Joe Barnes hit the wall down the front straightaway and pitted
with broken right front suspension, done for the night. A couple
laps later Jamie Aube pitted and the crew went under the hood. Back
in the pack there was a side-by-side battle for ninth, with Dragon
taking the position from Bolles.

At the fifty lap mark Marquis was still leading Santerre, with
Dion, Truex, Stefanik, Olsen, Dragon, Leighton, Bolles, and Barry
in tow. Bolles took eighth from Leighton shortly afterwards, and
Barry surrendered tenth to Ricky Fuller. Truex and Stefanik engaged
in a race for fourth, and Bolles was also battling Dragon again for
eighth. Next move was Fuller's, moving Leighton to tenth, and then
on lap 66 Truex took third place from Dion.

It took a while, but at the halfway mark Kelly Moore resurfaced in
the top ten after his penalty, and while he was making that move
Dion started going backwards, first being overtaken by Stefanik and
then Olsen, while Fuller got by Dragon for ninth.

This great racing was halted by a yellow flag on lap 83 for an
altercation going into turn one that left Bob Dragon with a bent-up
nose on his Pontiac. He pitted along with Lou Rettenmeier,
Leighton, Dion, Gravel, Tracy Gordon, Barry, Herb Drugg, Demers,
Bryan Wall, Sherwood, Rondeau, Bodine, Crouch, Jarred Robie and
Gravel. The running order under yellow was Marquis, Santerre,
Truex, Stefanik, Olsen, Bolles, Fuller, Moore, Stub Fadden and
Dennis Doyle.

On the lap 88 restart Truex battled Santerre for second and took
the position, while behind these two Stefanik and Olsen were
battling when Bolles jumped into the battle and passed Olsen for
fifth. Leighton re-entered the top ten as the 90 lap mark passed.

On lap 98 Mike Olsen slowed in the Little Trees Pontiac and headed
pitside, where he retired with a broken engine. Ricky Fuller took
his place in sixth, followed by Moore and Leighton. At the lap 100
mark the front of the field was Marquis, Truex, Santerre, Stefanik,
Bolles, Fuller, Moore, Leighton, Dion, and Barry who then lost
tenth to Rondeau.

The restart on lap 112 saw the front of the pack stay static but
behind them there was a scramble as Rondeau moved from ninth to
seventh, mixing it up with Moore, Leighton and Barry. Gege Gravel
coasted to the pits with a broken engine, and soon Leighton was
pushed out of the top ten.

A side by side battle between Fuller and Rondeau was interrupted on
lap 124 by Jeff Barry's hard contact with the outside wall coming
out of turn two, and Rondeau somehow spun in turn four as the
caution waved. Barry was done for the night while Leighton, Doyle,
Sherwood and Crouch pitted. The running order under yellow was
Marquis, Truex, Santerre, Stefanik, Bolles, Fuller, Dion, Fadden,
and Bryan Wall.

Back to racing on lap 129 found Bolles move around Stefanik for
fourth, with Stefanik next falling to Fuller, as behind them Fadden
moved around Dion for eighth, only to see Dion strike back and move
all the way up to seventh at the expense of Moore. Tracy Gordon
made his first appearance in the top ten, and with ten to go fought
with Fadden for ninth, getting that and allowing Rondeau to sneak
around Fadden as well for tenth. Eric Bodine relinquished his lead
lap status when he suffered a flat right front tire.

With three laps to go in the scheduled distance Tom Bolles made a
desperate dive to get under Andy Santerre for third in the third
turn, pushing up into Santerre's door and sending Santerre spinning
into the fourth turn wall. Caution came out as Santerre refired and
joined the field as the last car on the lead lap. Bodine pitted
under this yellow along with Russ Hersey.

The green-white-checker finish was pretty much anticlimactic as
Marquis and Truex streaked off away from Bolles, and the two
finished first and second. The unofficial finish was as follows: